Lost in the League
by TheBlackAngel07
Summary: Two brothers get sucked into Runeterra and are forced to enroll as champions in the League of Legends. As they search for a way home, the two stumble upon more sinister plots within the League. What exactly will they find, and will it lead them home?
1. Prologue

**CRACK**

"Take my hand!"

"I'm trying! I can't!"

"Reach farther!"

"I can't! I'm falling too fast!"

_**CRACK**_

_**BOOM**_

"Just a little farther!"

**BARK**

"Hold on to her!"

"I've got her! I've got her!"

"Now take my hand!"

"I'm trying-"

"MELVIE!"

"BIG BROTHER!"

_**CRA-A-ACK**_

"I'll find you! I will find you!"

The man shrieked as the rift dumped him onto ground. He had only a split second to brace himself before he skidded painfully on his back. Feathers bent backwards as the hard ground below tore at his dark grey robe.

Once stopped, he unfurled his wings to find his black puppy shuddering, but unharmed. The man then glanced around. The ground was dark and flat with sparse patches of short, spongey grass, and not a tree in sight. It smelled earthy, and tasted slightly of magic. Where was this place?

Rolling over on to one side with a cringe, the man stood. He snatched a golden bow that had landed beside him as he stood. The man shook off his ebony wings as he adjusted his hold on his puppy and held her closer. Silence. He was alone.


	2. Chapter 1

A figure strode across the land, clutching a few things in his hands. His hooded dark grey robe went down to his ankles, and had a darker stripe around his waist. The hood shadowed the man's eyes, but did not hide his darker grey, long, silken hair that just brushed his shoulders in the back. What skin was visible was almost as white as snow. His black owl-like wings nearly dragged on the ground. The man wore black traveling boots. In his arms, he carried what looked to be a black puppy and a golden bow with a flowery design on the center of the front. It had no arrows.

The man had no idea where he was, or where he was headed. He didn't even know what realm he was in. He only hoped he would come upon a settlement soon. From the fact the sun was now high in the sky, he had been traveling for at least a few hours. Thankfully, angels didn't tire so easily. Lullaby, however, would need food soon. He hadn't fed the poor dog since before their unexpected trip through the portal with his older brother.

The angel stopped and looked up from the ground to see he'd somehow stumbled upon the doorstep of what looked to be a city on the side of a mountain. When had that gotten there? A massive wall surrounded the city, with buildings rising up in an imposing semi-gothic style. There looked to be a trail spiraling up the imposing mountain with the home of the ruler positioned at the top. Whoever lived there must have money, as not only was it the only building with spires, but it was very easily the largest. It even appeared to have stone columns.

The man parted his lips to taste the air. This place tasted to be more saturated in magic than the plain he'd landed in. Either a group of magic casters must live in the mountain city, or at least some must have recently cast a very powerful spell for the air to taste so strongly of magic. However, there was a hint of something else around him.

"Who are you?" The deep voice sounding from behind, and so close, made the man jump with a shriek and nearly drop his poor puppy.

The voice's owner was almost the same height as the angel, wearing what looked to be a blue-violet hooded suit. Metal armor adorned both shoulders, but only enough to offer some protection. His right forearm held something that looked to be a cross of a shield and blade. Two leather straps crossed his chest, offering as an anchor for some sort of cloak. Around his waist was a blue strap, though for what, the angel didn't know. The man also wore metal boots, perhaps because of the fact that his cloak had several blades on the end. From his steely expression and the way his arms were crossed, he wouldn't stand for nonsense. The air around him tasted of something dark, like shadows.

"M-Melovic, Melovic, the Black Angel of Chastity." It only crossed his mind for a moment if perhaps that title made any sense to the man. "You?" he managed without a stutter.

"Talon." Talon offered no further information on himself. "Why are you here?"

"I-I got lost. My big brother and I, we were walking with Lullaby here," he motioned to the black puppy with his chin, "when some sort of portal opened up and sucked us in. We got separated, and I landed in a plain, and was trying to f-find a place when-when you popped up." Melovic hoped the other would be a little lenient. He'd been told that his body language, way of speaking, personality, and voice reminded others of a child, despite he and his brother being several thousand years old. He hoped that would come through now, and that Talon wouldn't see him as a threat or someone pulling a trick. Without his older brother, Melovic felt incredibly vulnerable and lost. He needed this man's help.

Instead of answering right away, Talon uncrossed his arms and began to circle Melovic, carefully taking in everything he saw, anything that could be used in a surprise attack. In all honesty, Melovic didn't have anything else on him, not that Talon would see.

The man stopped in front of Melovic. "Not even a quiver," he murmured to himself before addressing the angel. "How does that bow of yours work?"

"I-I'll show you," he stuttered back. The angel placed his pet on his shoulder before taking the bow in his left and its string in his right. He settled his gaze on a specific crack in the distant city wall, took a sharp breath, and drew back the string. As he did, an arrow that looked to be made of white light materialized on the bow. Melovic aimed for but a moment more before letting the arrow fly.

Had Talon blinked, he would have missed the arrow's flight through the air. It had lodged itself in the crack, almost exactly where Melovic had aimed. The angel knew that if he had kneeled, he would have landed the arrow exactly where he wanted without question, no matter any wind.

The angel looked to the other man, lowering his bow as Lullaby offered a joyful bark. Despite his steely gaze, Talon's widened eyes told Melovic that he was, to some degree, impressed. But that look quickly vanished as Talon tore his gaze from the arrow to glance at him. "What do you plan to do?"

"Well," he started sheepishly, turning towards the ground, "I was planning to stay somewhere until my brother found me." From what he had said, his brother had every intention of searching for him. It would be easier to be found if he stayed in one place.

"And how exactly will he be able to find you?" The angel offered no answer. He hadn't thought that through. "I know a place you can go." Talon motioned for Melovic to follow as he started walking away from the city. With nothing else to do, the angel followed. "If you get in, it'll offer you the best publicity possible, get your name out there for your brother to find."

"What is it?" Melovic hoisted Lullaby off his shoulder and held her to his chest, gripping his bow in one hand.

"It's called The Institute of War." Talon casually stepped over a rock.

"What's that?"

"It's a building not far from here that houses an organization called the League of Legends. The League of Legends is made up of two groups of people, champions and summoners. A champion can be anyone from a person like me to a manifest force of nature, so long as they've joined and can fight. Summoners are people that have gone through extensive magic training to sync up the building's magic system. Got that so far?" Melovic nodded with a quiet "Mhm," as he stepped over a rock.

"Champions fight on what are called The Fields of Justice. The purpose of these fights is to decide political issues between the city states in hopes of preventing wars. A great deal that's done us," he added sarcastically to himself. The way Talon said it reminded Melovic of his older brother. "Summoners choose a political side and summon a champion of that same side to one of the fields, commanding them during battle to destroy the enemy's base with skill and strength. The first to destroy the opposing side's base wins.

"These matches are widely broadcast, and any place that has a television would watch them when they do happen. Not to mention, the addition of a new champion would certainly be buzz worthy, and get your name out there at the least." The man glanced over his shoulder, "Got that, kid?"

Lullaby gave an enthusiastic bark. Her owner paused before offering a faint nod, having nothing else to say. The day wore on as the two traveled in silence, with Lullaby occasionally hopping down to walk beside them. The ground became more rocky and hill-like until it seemed they had entered a small mountain range. Melovic had to keep himself focused on the path to avoid tripping or stepping on loose stone while Talon seemed to have enough experience traversing the path that rarely needed to look at the ground.

Some hours had passed before the pair rounded the side of a mountain and approached what looked to be a plateau in the middle of the mountains some distance ahead. On the plateau stood a massive building that looked to be made entirely of blue stone and shingles which filled up most of the plateau from this angle. Massive hallways broke off here and there with stone doors as the end of each one. Around the building were small sporadically placed gardens, the largest of which covered and entire side of the building. Two thick spires rose up from the building, each about a third in from what Melovic assumed to be the front and back. It looked grander than any castle he remembered.

With the way the plateau fell off around the building, a few bridges had needed to be built to allow access for those who couldn't fly or teleport over. It vaguely reminded him of a moat. A fitting moat for such a castle.

"This is the back way to the Institute of War." Talon paused and glanced over his shoulder, several steps ahead down the mountain. Melovic had been so shocked by the sight he hadn't realized he'd stopped. "Come on, we want to get there as soon as possible." The angel swallowed, nodded, and began walking again. The closer they got, the more Melovic came to realize just how big the building was, and just how saturated with magic the air about it tasted.

When they approached the closest bridge, the angel noticed that two people stood on the sides of the door the bridge led up to. The one on the left was light skinned and wore a violet hooded robe, while the one on the right was dark skinned and wore a blue one. He could tell even from a distance that both robes were decorated with gold embroideries. Each wore several golden bracelets and rings with chains.

Though he couldn't see their faces very well, Melovic could feel their gazes on them the as they crossed the bridge and walked up. It wasn't until he and Talon stood but a few feet away that he noticed the lighter skinned man had a nose piercing chained to his right ear.

"What do you want, Talon?" said the lighter skinned guard.

"We need entry."

"Champions are not allowed entry through this door. I would think you would know this by now." From the tone of the darker skinned guard, it was clear that this wasn't just a matter of business. They didn't trust Talon.

"This matter concerns the High Council, not either of you. They have a potential champion on their hands, and I don't think they want that opportunity gone." Lullaby's squirming forced Melovic to readjust his arms, and he almost missed the subtle gesture of the darker skinned guard slightly turning his head towards the other. A moment more of hesitation, and he turned to push open the door and slip inside. The lighter skinned guard stayed at his post, his gaze not leaving the pair.

As soon as the other guard was gone, Melovic turned to his guide. "High Council?"

"Short for High Council of Equity," Talon explained, crossing his arms. "They're a trio of powerful summoners that have the final say in all of the League's decisions. Two of them have been around since what are referred to as the Rune Wars, and the other was sworn in several years ago. They'll be the ones to decide if you can become a champion or not."

"Champion?" Melovic nearly panicked. "But I didn't say-"

"The only way for you to join is to be a champion; I thought I made that clear. It would take you years to become a summoner, and even then, your name wouldn't get out there. From what I saw, your skill isn't exactly in summoning magic, either."

Talon was right. Melovic didn't have the time or skill to become a summoner. His skill lay in aiming and fighting, not summoning others to fight for him. His weapon was a bow for a reason. If he wanted his brother to find him, he had to trust Talon in this.

Lullaby gave his chin a joyful lick, effectively distracting him from the situation at hand. The angel offered her a faint shy smile in return. At the very least, he had her to keep him company. She was better than most at knowing when he needed cheering up. Sometimes, he didn't know what he'd do if he hadn't found her as a pup in the forest back home.

The thick stone doors opening minutes later caught Melovic's attention. "Come in."


	3. Chapter 2

Three people in violet hooded robes stood in the doorway, all watching Melovic. The one in the middle was a man, the other two, women. The man had a black, grey flecked, close-shaven goatee. His skin was lightly tanned. His right eye was green, but his left looked to be gold with a black rim around the iris. A scar reached from above the man's left eye down to his cheek. The gold decorations on the man's robe made it difficult for Melovic to decipher whether or not he wore a violet jacket.

The woman to his right had golden hair with grey sprinkled in and caramel eyes to match. Her skin, in contrast to the man's, was very fair. Signs of age were beginning to show on both her face and the man's; most likely, both of them were in their late fifties or early sixties. Along with the gold decorations on her robe, she appeared to have a scarf made of golden silk draped around her neck.

The other woman, in contrast to the other two, looked to be much younger. Her eyes were not seen due to how low she wore her hood, but what was seen of her face and light tan hair made her appear to be in her mid-thirties to Melovic. Her robe didn't have as many decorations, but unlike the other two, it had golden chains around the end of the sleeves. These three must be the High Council Talon told him about. One of them tasted of smoke.

Melovic looked between the three of them, a little unsure how to react at first. Unconsciously, he stepped through the door. Tongue was assaulted with nothing but the taste of magic so unexpectedly overpowering that it made him sick. Lullaby dragged herself onto the safety of his shoulder as he keeled over, stomach lurching.

His wings shuttered as his stomach heaved, but nothing came out. The angel tried to take another breath, but the powerful taste of magic upset his stomach even more. The taste of bile stung in the back of his throat before it disappeared again. Dully, he heard someone ask, "Are you alright?" As he waited to answer, his stomach settled a little. He tested another breath, which this time only brought on a cough. Melovic nodded in response, still leaning over.

It was a few more moments before his tongue adapted enough to the taste that he could straighten up. He was greeted with seeing that the three people had stepped back, and Talon had walked in beside him. The dark skinned guard walked out past the pair as the angel glanced around, trying to get used to the taste.

The building looked even larger on the inside, as the door had led to a massive square room with a towering ceiling several stories above. The floor appeared to have a large square dip in the center meant to easily hold a few hundred people. Though floor, ceiling and walls were all blackish-grey, many orbs of light floating around the ceiling made it all look light grey. A few hanging plants looked to have been hung from the ceiling or placed on shelves and book cases for aesthetic purposes. Or perhaps they were used to keep the room from getting too stuffy.

People bustled about, wearing either purple or blue hooded robes. All of them seemed to have something to do; some people walked through the room towards other halls as they conversed, some gathered around strange glass-like orbs in the square pit, while others resided on a couch looking at something resembling a clear map that floated. Still, more gathered around a circular table, moving pieces around on a transparent shifting board while another looked to be commanding others to get something done. One person even had a broom, attempting to clean the floor as people walked by. These people must be why the place was saturated with magic.

"How do you people stand the taste of this magic?" Melovic wondered out loud. The man gave him a confused look in return.

"Taste?" His voice was surprisingly deeper than Melovic expected, and rather youthful. It didn't match his face. Peculiar.

His question, however, almost caught Melovic off guard. He often forgot most humans didn't have near as good a sense of taste as he did. Hell, even his older brother didn't have as good as sense of taste as him. "Magic, I can taste it." No sooner had he said that than Lullaby started to growl at the man. The angel reached up a hand and gently set it on the pup's shoulder. "Lullaby, behave." She stopped growling at his request, but her fierce look didn't waver.

The man cleared his throat in response. "I believe an introduction is in order-you won't be leaving just yet, Talon." Melovic glanced to his side, not having noticed Talon's attempt to excuse himself from the situation. Talon groaned and turned back to the group as the man continued. "I am High Councilor Reganen." With one hand, he motioned to the woman on the right. "This is High Councilor Kiersta,-" he motioned to the other, younger lady, "and High Councilor Vessaria."

For a moment, Melovic expected him to say more before he realized they were waiting for him to respond. "Oh, I'm Melovic, and this is my puppy, Lullaby." The pup sat on his shoulder, her tail swishing in suspicion.

"How exactly did you meet Talon?" Reganen asked, folding his hands behind his back.

"Oh, I-uh-" the angel began intelligently, lifting a finger to his chin.

Luckily, Talon, probably eager to be off, jumped in to start him off. "I was wondering outside Noxus when I noticed him walking over. When I asked, he mentioned something about having been lost."

"That's right!" Suddenly, the explanation clicked in Melovic's mind. "My brother and I had been wandering through a forest when a portal opened up and dragged us through it. We got separated, so I started wandering, and next thing I knew I was by a mountain city and Talon had snuck up behind me." His black wings flicked at the thought.

There was another moment of silence as the three considered his story. Vessaria then spoke up, asking, "And what are you and your brother?"

"We're angels," was the instinctive answer.

"Like Kayle and Morgana," Reganen stated back. Melovic's face contorted in confusion.

"What are those?"

"Kayle and Morgana are two sisters that claim to be from a race of angels fighting an ancient war. Morgana forsake their teachings to serve what she considers a better power, and Kayle in turned disowned her, seeing Morgana as fallen."

The angel scoffed in return. "Angels don't fight, not where I'm from."

"And where are you from?"

"I'm from a different dimension."

"You mean universe?" Vessaria added.

Melovic, however, shook his head. "No, it's not like that. Dimensions…they hold multiple alternate universes in them." Once more, he lifted a finger to his chin. He wasn't sure how to explain it to them. Thankfully, Talon came to his rescue again.

"I think he means multiverse, High Councilors."

"Sort of," Melovic answered, wavering his hand.

"Well, in any case-" Reganen began, but was cut off by an approaching woman.

"You asked for me, your Highnesses?" The woman clasped her hands behind her back as she stopped beside the High Council. She wore similarly decorated violet robes, though hers didn't look to have as many decorations. She also kept her hood down. Her skin was fair, her eyes a stark blue to match her blonde hair. Clasped around the woman's neck was a black choker with a perfectly cut violet crystal. Even from a distance, Melovic could taste some kind of magic in it. On her chest, there was a strange triangular insignia that looked to be of some symbolic importance embroided on to her robe.

"Ah, Senior Steward," Reganen greeted her with a courteous nod. "Your timing is impeccable, as always. We need you to ready the Judgment Room, preferably something light."

"Of course," was all she said before she began to clear a path.

"Oh, Senior Steward," he called after her, causing the Steward to stop in her tracks and turn around. "You may want to reinforce it. This one has a magic I've not seen before." She gave a nod before continuing on her path. High Councilor Reganen then turned to Talon briefly. "You may leave now, Talon." Talon needed no further direction to take his leave as the councilors began to follow the Steward at a clear distance, leaving Melovic to needing to catch up.

"What was that? About magic?" the angel called as he jogged to catch up. If Reganen heard, however, he gave no sign that he did. As he followed behind the three councilors, Melovic glanced at the others in the room a little more closely. All those people in robes, he realized, must be summoners. A few of them wore white masks, but for what reason? Were they a part of the culture of this place? He noticed one of the masked summoners staring directly at him. The mask smiled, but it made him feel uneasy.

The angel turned away from the one masked summoner as he pulled Lullaby off his shoulder and into his arms, walking a little faster to keep up. For the moment, he wouldn't ask any more questions. The pup whined as she nuzzled his chest affectionately, trying to ease his mind.

Soon enough, the group entered a hall on the left side of the room, turning off not long after into a small room. The walls and floor were all a pastel yellow, and he caught the edge of the ceiling fading from black to the same pastel color. This room, too, tasted of magic. The Senior Steward stood with her back to them, moving a few of her fingers. It looked as if she were adding more magic to the room. A single chair stood in the middle.

The Steward turned and walked towards the corner to the left of the group as the three councilors parted, motioning him to step forward. After a moment of hesitation, the angel strode forward, spinning in front of the chair to face them as the door closed. Oddly enough, the coloring of the wall looked to light it instead of an actual light. Melovic nervously rocked up onto the balls of his feet, unsure what would happen next.

"You can't have the pup with you," Reganen informed him. This only served to cause Melovic to hold Lullaby closer.

"I don't want to leave her," he pleaded in return.

"If she means that much to you," Kiersta, having finally spoken in a soft voice, "she can stay beside me." At that, Melovic set the dog down, and she obediently trotted over behind High Councilor Kiersta. It registered in his mind for a moment that Kiersta's soft voice seemed to fit her apparent old age.

Melovic was about to ask what happens next when he felt something trying to invade his mind. Whatever it was, it wanted to invade his being, his very existence. It wanted access to all his secrets, his twerks, his experiences, what made him laugh, what made him cry; everything he knew and everything he was. It wanted to know every filthy corner of his mind, and every sunshiny bubble of it, too.

At the same time, that thing was also trying to pull him apart, trying to pull him into something. It wanted to pull him out of existence, and into something else. The need to keep himself stable on his feet kept the angel from trying to block the eyes prying into his being. He keeled over as the thing began to claw and pull at his flesh, draining his energy as it did. His bow dropped from his hands and clattered onto the floor. He tried for a moment to call upon his magic, but the thing blocked him. His muscles screamed in pain.

Melovic fell to his knees, the scream of agony stolen by the inability to inhale. The unseen thing attempted even harder to drag everything of him into something; what exactly, he didn't know. He couldn't feel it. He just knew it wanted to imprison him.

It felt as if his mind were being torn apart and chained, and his flesh with it. He could actually feel the chains beginning to surround his wrists, ankles, and waist as this thing sucked and ripped away at his consciousness. He had no energy to fight. The angel barely had enough energy to remain conscious, and even that was fading. As he struggled to remain awake, for a moment, he wondered if it was worth fighting. It seemed such a sweet relief to give in, to not need to struggle anymore. And yet, he couldn't afford not to. He heard a frantic voice in the background.

Suddenly, he was released. The angel fell to his hands and knees, gasping as his consciousness flooded back in an instant. How long had it been? He felt exhausted. It felt like both an eternity and only a second had passed. A few coughs sputtered from his lips. A moment more, and his energy returned with his consciousness.

Melovic snatched his bow and stood as Lullaby came running over, barking in concern. Poor girl must have been scared to death to see him react like that. Hesitantly, the angel bent down to stroke her before standing again and facing the councilors. All of them stared at him in shock. Whatever just happened, it probably wasn't supposed to gone that way.

"My gods," Reganen murmured, "it's never done that before. What are you?"

"I'm an angel." The words fell out of his mouth like a saddening secret.

"The spell was only meant to hook your soul up to the system, not your body." Vessari took a step forward. "Angel or not, it shouldn't have reacted like that."

"But I am a soul." The angel, somewhat scared and startled from knowing the cause was them, clung to his bow like it was a teddy bear, and started to rock his shoulders back and forth as if her were a child.

Reganen crossed his arms, one hand scratching at his stubble as he thought. "This will require a lot of time to look into, time we don't have right now. There are a lot of other matters that need to be settled first. Demacia and Noxus are still at odds with each other, and we can't risk them going to war again. The Crystal Scar is still infused with too much magic. Zaun's closed off trading paths, claiming that the next batch of Hextech goes to them. That still needs solving as well. And we still don't have a place to keep Gnar safe and calm, with or without The Inventor to look after him."

"Perhaps we could have a few of the stewards look after Gnar while we figure something out," Vessaria suggested. "That would clean up at least some of our time. We might be able to send one of them to hear from Zaun and Piltover, as well."

"With all due respect, your Highnesses," the Senior Steward chimed, "perhaps I could resolve this issue with the new champion. That would leave you with one less problem to deal with, would it not?" Melovic, remaining silent now, looked between the woman and the councilors. She seemed strangely calm compared to the others, but he couldn't tell why. The High Councilors had an air of authority, but The Steward lady had an air of calmness.

Reganen glanced at Vessaria, waiting for a faint nod of approval, before turning to Kiersta. After receiving the same nod from her, he turned to face The Steward. "Of course. Thank you, Senior Steward. You will be saving us a lot of trouble."

The Steward returned a nod and smile before motioning for Melovic to follow. The angel held a wing back and made a click with his tongue, signaling for Lullaby to jump onto his shoulder. He then followed The Steward out of the room into the hallway. Neither of them spoke as she led him down the hall to another room, this one mostly grey.

"Your pet can not come in with you," she remarked as he ducked gently through the doorway after her.

"I don't want to leave her anywhere-she's my only friend." This elicited an exhausted sigh from The Steward.

"If she truly means so much to you, then perhaps it can be arranged that she can live with you here, at the Institute of War. But I fear that will not apply when it comes to the Fields of Justice. Perhaps ... for the better." A small orb that reminded Melovic of a touch screen appeared in her hand as she stood in front of him. "That will be determined by The Steward who will help decide your champion kit, as it is called." The woman's face suddenly wrinkled very slightly at something, as if stumped. She said nothing for the next minute as she studied whatever it was that seemed to stump her.

Melovic decided to break the silence. "What's your name?"

The woman looked up, apparently not expecting the question. "My name is Senior Steward Tybresa Farrister-Cassalantar." She glanced back at the orb, her hand and fingers gracefully manipulating it to her needs. Melovic nearly twitched out of nervousness from hearing such a name. "But you may call me Tybresa."

"What are stewards?"

"The Stewards are a select group of summoners that work to make sure everything runs smoothly. We make sure that all the wards and magical influxes are working properly and in complete balance with each other - we deal with the bureocratic side of all things related with the League. We speak to the champions, and they speak to us. Honestly, there is little we do not do. As the Senior Steward, my duties include that, as well as overseeing the performance of my fellows. I also collaborate directly with the High Council of Equity, as I am sure you already saw, while the other Stewards look up to me for advice; and the rest of the summoners, leadership."

Lullaby's tail thumped on his shoulder as something the Steward tried while tinkering with the small orb briefly caused ethereal chains to appear around the angel's wrists. Frustrated, she made a sweeping motion with her hand, causing the chains to vanish.

There was a moment of silence before he responded with another question. "What's a kit?"

"It is a set of five abilities every champion has: three basic, one innate, and one ultimate. These abilities are regulated by spells on the Fields of Justice that keep champions from using all but those five abilities. These spells also suppress energy to keep matches as even as possible." Suddenly, something seemed to spark in her eyes. "Reganen said you had different magic than most. Would you please give me an example to work with?"

In response, Melovic held his bow to his chest and began to draw back the string in order summon an arrow made of magic. Tybresa's reaction wasn't exactly positive.

"You would not dare point that bow at me-"

"Melovic."

"Melovic, or I shall have you on the ground begging for mercy before you could string up an arrow." She crossed her arms, as if to emphasize her point. The angel sheepishly lowered his bow.

"But-it's the only way I can pull up my magic…" His soft voice faded out. Last time he'd tried to summon his magic without his bow and without his brother's help, everyone within six feet had received magical burns. It wasn't likely the Senior Steward would want that repeated. Lullaby nuzzled his face.

Tybresa paused for a moment, expression thoughtful, considering her options. She then raised her hand and looked to paint some sort of symbol in the air with three fingers, lines of magic appearing as she did. By the looks of it, she was setting up a counter spell. So this is what their magic looked like. "Very well. You may try now," she directed, her expression calming, "but should you try anything questionable, I will not hold back."

Once again, Melovic hefted the bow up to his chest, pulling back the string. A white yellow-hinted arrow that looked to be made of solid light appeared on his bow. It looked like it would ripple like water if one touched it, and yet it looked like it could be held without losing shape. Such was the nature of the angel's magic at its purest, at least in the living world.

He unstrung the arrow, handling it with care, before offering it to the Senior Steward. She grasped it with care as well. "Interesting. I have never seen magic like this," she murmured to herself as she inspected the arrow.

"Ranè."

"Excuse me?" Tybresa looked back up at him.

Melovic tapped his fingers nervously together. "Ranè is its technical name, but it's the same basic concept as magic." He hoped Tybresa wouldn't think of him as a know-it-all. After all, it wasn't exactly magic, but a mechanic that worked similaly. Both magic and Ranè got the job done, just in different ways, like how both a microwave and oven worked to heat something through different methods.

The Steward straightened, expression calm and authoritative once more. "Well, thank you, Melovic. Your magic is unique; I am sure I will be able to work something out with what you have given me." She turned, something else tasting of magic forming in her other hand. The summoners sure used a lot of magic. "Steward Naja, I need you on the first floor, northern wing examining room." The thing vanished before the angel could glimpse it.

"Who for what?" he asked as he stepped closer, not at all certain of what would happen to him next.

"Steward Naja will be working with you next," Tybresa called over her shoulder as she strode towards the door with the arrow. "I'll need to tinker with this to get you hooked up to the Nexi Leylines, so I won't have much time to help you with anything else for at least the rest of today. Steward Naja should be able to take care of you from here."

"Nexi what?" That got him to stay put. What on earth had she just said? He had much to learn about this world.

"In short, they hook up champions to the Nexi, allowing them to be summoned on the Fields of Justice." Before she could explain further, a feminine voice called from outside. "That would be Steward Naja," the Senior Steward commented as she opened the door.

The woman outside the door was at least a head shorter than Melovic, but she, too, held an air of calm authority between how she smiled and how her hands were clasped behind her back. She gave a courteous nod to the pair. Like Tybresa, this woman kept her hood down, making the angel wonder if doing so was a pride thing, or a status thing. If it was a status symbol, though, then why did the High Council wear their hoods up like the rest?

Her violet hooded robe had few gold decorations, those being in the form of gold linings. Her skin was a slight olive color, which seemed to compliment her bark brown hair. Her green eyes reminded him of emeralds. Around her neck, the lady wore a pendant that mirror the triangular embroidery on Tybresa's robe. Melovic guessed that was the trademark symbol for the stewards.

"Steward Naja will be helping you with your kit."

* * *

Author's note: Special thanks to summoner-tybresa from Tumblr for letting me use her character, Senior Steward Tybresa.


End file.
